Criminal orders is the collective name given to a series of orders, directives and decrees given before and during the German invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II by the Wehrmacht High Command. [1] [2] [3] The criminal orders went beyond established codes of conduct and led to widespread atrocities on the Eastern Front.
While the term "criminal orders" is usually associated with the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Jochen Böhler is convinced that some orders issued by the Wehrmacht command during the invasion of Poland in September 1939 may already be considered "criminal orders." He pointed out, in this context, the following: [4]
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